John Denver - Thank God I'm a Country Boy (1977) - Thank God I'm a Country Boynn“Thank God I’m a Country Boy” was a 1977 ABC televisio...
John Denver - Thank God I'm a Country Boy (1977) - Thank God I'm a Country Boynn“Thank God I’m a Country Boy” was a 1977 ABC television special. It starred John Denver as host, Johnny Cash, Roger Miller, Glen Campbell, and Mary Kay Place.nnJohn Denver sings his iconic song “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” He is accompanied by Johnny Cash (guitar), Roger Miller (fiddle) and Glen Campbell (banjo).nnn"Thank God I'm a Country Boy", also known as "Country Boy", is a song written by John Martin Sommers and recorded by American singer/songwriter John Denver. The song was originally included on Denver's 1974 album Back Home Again. A version recorded live on August 26, 1974 at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles was included on his 1975 album An Evening with John Denver. The live version was released as a single and went to No. 1 on both the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles and Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song topped both charts for one week each, first the country chart (on May 31), and the Hot 100 chart a week later.nnHenry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American musician, singer-songwriter, record producer, activist, actor, and humanitarian, whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singer, starting in the 1970s. He was one of the most popular acoustic artists of the decade and one of its best-selling artists. By 1974, he was firmly established as America's best-selling performer, and AllMusic has described Denver as "among the most beloved entertainers of his era." After traveling and living in numerous locations while growing up in his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. Throughout his life, Denver recorded and released approximately 300 songs, about 200 of which he composed, with total sales of over 33 million. nnnFor more information on Glen Campbell:nWebsite: http://www.glencampbellmusic.comnFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/glencampbello...nTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/glencampbellnnnGlen Travis Campbell (born April 22, 1936) is an American rock and country music singer, guitarist, songwriter, television host, and occasional actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting a music and comedy variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television from January 1969 through June 1972.nnDuring his 50 years in show business, Campbell has released more than 70 albums. He has sold 45 million records and accumulated 12 RIAA Gold albums, four Platinum albums and one Double-platinum album. He has placed a total of 80 different songs on either the Billboard Country Chart, Billboard Hot 100, or the Adult Contemporary Chart, of which 29 made the top 10 and of which nine reached number one on at least one of those charts. Campbell's hits include his recordings of John Hartford's "Gentle on My Mind"; Jimmy Webb's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", and "Galveston"; Larry Weiss's "Rhinestone Cowboy"; and Allen Toussaint's "Southern Nights".nnCampbell made history in 1967 by winning four Grammys total, in the country and pop categories.[2] For "Gentle on My Mind", he received two awards in country and western, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" did the same in pop. Three of his early hits later won Grammy Hall of Fame Awards (2000, 2004, 2008), while Campbell himself won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. He owns trophies for Male Vocalist of the Year from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and the Academy of Country Music (ACM), and took the CMA's top award as 1968 Entertainer of the Year. In 1969, actor John Wayne picked Campbell to play alongside him in the film True Grit, which gave Campbell a Golden Globe nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. Campbell sang the title song which was nominated for an Academy Award.nnAlzheimer's diagnosis... nnIn June 2011, Campbell announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease six months earlier. According to his family, symptoms of the disease had been occurring for years, becoming more and more evident as the years progressed.nnCampbell went on a final "Goodbye Tour", with three of his children joining him in his backup band; his final show was on November 30, 2012, in Napa, California.[During the tour's concerts and rehearsals, Campbell would often forget which songs he was supposed to play, repeating them after finishing a performance. He also frequently had to be reminded that he did have the disease, and relied on a teleprompter to remember the lyrics to most songs. Newer songs from his later albums had to be scrapped altogether, as Campbell struggled to remember the chords and lyrics for these. He performed "Rhinestone Cowboy" as a goodbye at the 2012 Grammy Awards ceremony held on February 12, 2012, his final televised on-stage performance. Less
